MIXI's Mellifluous Metamorphosis Osculates A Stitched Up Heart

-Mixi the Glitter Pixie Ain't Just Whistling Dixie-

I've seen a lot of bands in my career. Thousands. I should say in my life because it is my life. My work. My pleasure. My legacy.

Like any dopamine junkie, I'm always seeking the next fix, the next new band or artist to get excited about. To rave about. To tell my friends and family about. To tell the industry about. I saw them "when". I wish Foursquare gave out badges...I would be definitely be Mayor.

I've experienced many "moments". A few come to mind though let's turn the clock back to 1993. It was the middle of January one blustery winter in Chicago and a Sony rep told me I had to go down to the Metro to see one of their new bands and that there were free drinks in it for me. I knew nothing about the band. Twist my arm.

That night, with about 50 other people, I saw Rage Against The Machine play Chicago for the first time and I had one of those "moments" where I fully realized what was happening. I was seeing something extraordinary. I felt like I was seeing the future of rock 'n roll as the adrenaline coarsed through my synapses.

I went up to Zach de la Rocha after the show and told him, "Keep spreading your message. You have a lot of important things to say". A "moment" frozen in time, nary a tweet to commemorate it.

Since then, the internet and smart phones and, yes, social media have supplanted the archaic information pipeline and it's made music discovery more efficient whereby I don't need to wait for a publicist to come calling. In fact, discovering new music is now nearly infinite so quick fixes come easy but "moments" are often elusive.

A month ago, a budding superstar-in-waiting vampira named Ash Costello, who presides over a rock 'n roll masquerade called New Years Day, tweeted about an upcoming show at Bar Sinister in Hollywood by a band called STITCHED UP HEART, who reminded me of another LA band named Evolove (which my friend Lucy Levinsohn sings for).

Adhering to the loosely enforced, but noticeably posted, Bar Sinister dress code of "all black," I showed up to a long line that stretched down the block. Anticipation. I wandered in and sat down on the medieval monument that is a monolithic centerpiece to the room. It's a veritable fountain of youth for the nighttime creatures of Hollywood signifying their quest to remain eternally young.

Shortly thereafter, a girl with hearts stitched on her coat consecrated the proceedings by littering glitter all over the stage. A Pixie dust primer.

Tick tick Boom and a triple-track locomotive of riffage burst forth as Stitched Up Heart featuring vocalist Mixi, lead guitarist Mikey Mystery, guitarist Nikki Misery, bassist Charlie Conley and drummer Andrew Carroll launched into "We're Alive" and it's anthemic chorus of "Only Tonight, We scream for this moment." Screams were indeed emitted.

The cacophony of uproarious approval was a fervent testimonial to the urgency of the music and the powerful way it which it was being unfurled. Attention deficit gratification.

Over the course of their brief seven-song set, we continued to be pulverized with a barrage of tight meaty rock. At times, the music sounded like it was straight off of Mötley Crüe's Too Fast For Love debut though sprinkled with heavy metal solos right out of the Paul Gilbert Racer X playbook.

It was familiar, yet completely engaging, with Ms. Mixi leading the rampant procession of wattage with a measured dose of cataclysmic emotional gravity. She seemed at home on stage, completely living in the moment and equally lost in the moment.

Some know Mixi (aka Alecia Demner) as the winner of the Fuse TV reality show Redemption Song which aired in 2008 and yielded her the luscious alterna-pop single "I Miss Those Days (Ghost)":


A left turn? A u-turn? A turnstile? Mixi's mellifluous metamorphosis is the sign of an artist with a creative hunger that pushes boundaries and preconceptions but what remains a constant is her sheer talent and undeniable ability to deliver a tune.

Vocally, she is multi-modal, with inflections that remind one of chanteuses such as Regina Spektor, Lily Allen, Katy Perry and even a little Siouxsie Sioux while also being able to easily match the powerful delivery of rock goddesses like Cristina Scabbia (of Lacuna Coil), Tarja Turunen (from Nightwish) and, ironically, Alexis Brown from Straight Line Stitch (when Alexis is singing in her "normal" voice).

"Sister Stitch, You're motoring. What's your price for flight?"

The Sinister set closer was a barn-burner called "Is This The Way To Get To Hell?" with its refrain "Dripping from bloody fingers, Running from the palms of my hands." Ready made for the Warped/AP crowd.

Stitched Up Heart Is This The Way To Get To Hell?

Visceral, though I began to have a flashback to the only other time I had been to Bar Sinister to see an acoustic performance by the band Flyleaf and how their gut-punching music has a religious artery though not necessarily overtly, so one can listen to their lyrics and take what they want from it, but once you understand the intent, it provides a clear window pane.

What was she referring to? Emotional pain or a soul conflicted spiritually? Was the empowerment of a stitched up heart forthright in its fortitude? There seemed to be something deeper...

Or was it just a kick ass rock show on a Saturday night?!?

My wandering mind was soon recalibrated as three girls from the crowd climbed on the stage to spit and spray egregious amounts of fake blood. In a moment of parity, my BlackBerry was doused with glistening drops of red as I was typing my show notes and I started to have one of "those" moments. The room was buzzing. The energy was palpable. Spatial Convergence. Indelible.

It was a triumphant evening for a band that has only been in existence for six months and doing everything 100% DIY. With only two songs available for purchase after the show, the band is in the midst of recording a new EP.

Asked for comment afterwards, Ash Costello proclaimed that Stitched Up Heart "Tears it up better than Jack The Ripper". Slashingly well!

Count Ashula soon joined Nikki Misery for some impromptu heart stitching...

On the way home, an overarching thought came into focus that a movement in rock 'n roll is taking place. Over the last several months, I've encountered a different breed of Hollywood buzzbands, from Vampires Everywhere! and Black Veil Brides to Kerli and New Years Day and, now, Stitched Up Heart. It seems as if, perhaps, the second generation of glam is metamorphosizing from the ashes of emo.

Whether they're leather-bound Vampires, Brides of the Night, gothic Maenads, Victorian Harjukus or mystical Pixies, artists are immersing themselves in creating "personalities," dressing the part and conjuring dramatic seductive performances underscored by theatrical context. Vincent Furnier would be proud. So would Alice...from Wonderland.

The fans have been invited to the playtime party as well with artists encouraging and rewarding participation while also dubbing their disciples with cute pet names such as monsters, aliens, moonchildren, vultures and creeps.

Perhaps Stitched Up Heart should refer to their loyal congregation as "beats" (as in heart), "sutures" or simply "stitches" because it will take every one of those fans to join together to pump blood into the heart of their music so it can continue beating strong.

However their legion of devout fans may be lovingly referred to, one thing is for sure, it's time to join together, unstitch your lips, pucker up and osculate the new world order that's glitterizing the heart of the bloody revolution.

STITCHED UP HEART
BAR SINISTER
HOLLYWOOD, CA
4/9/11
1. We're Alive
2. This Is What We're Here For
3. Inside Me
4. Burn
5. Freefall
6. (Name This Song)
7. Is This The Way You Get To Hell?

MIXI TWITTER | MIXI FACEBOOK
NIKKI MISERY (Guitar) TWITTER
MIKEY MYSTERY (Lead Guitar) TWITTER
ANDREW CARROLL (Drums) TWITTER

STITCHED UP HEART TWITTER
STITCHED UP HEART FACEBOOK
STITCHED UP HEART REVERB NATION

[Special thanks to Alecia Demner (for the handwritten set-list) Ash Costello, Nikki Misery & photographer Daniel Seth Rodriguez]

The BIG 4; Coachellica Hath Fury In The Desert

Welcome to the desert. We got fun 'n' games. We got everything you want.

And then some.

The ancient Aqua Caliente Indian Tribe has lived in the Coachella Valley for hundreds of years and believes the area lays above direct access portals to the most celebrated of all resources, the mystical and powerful underworld where spiritual healers historically are believed to have acquired their strength and serenity.

Welcome to the desert. We take it day by day.

Saturday April 23 marked Act II of Southern California's live music triumvirate at the Empire Polo Club of Indio, CA. Four heavy metal conquistadors from the 80's banded together under the easy-to-market moniker of The BIG 4 as the middle course of a Goldenvoice platter, with an apéritif of Coachella and a digestif of the Stagecoach Country Music Festival.

It's truly unprecedented, that over the course of a 3-week span, 200+ artists ranging from Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth & Anthrax to Rascal Flatts, Kenny Chesney, K.D. Lang & Carrie Underwood to The Strokes, Duran Duran, Paul van Dyk & Kanye West, perform on the same hallowed grassy ground smack-dab in the middle of the desert.

Gusty dusty winds accompanied our 300-horsepower buggy through the long and winding road known as Interstate 10; Eastbound and Down from LA. After grabbing our credentials and consuming a hearty "Waste 'Em All' burger (w/ Bacon, Pepper jack cheese, marinated Green chiles & beer-soaked onions) from the Grill 'Em All truck parked in the VIP area, we hit the media tent for an exclusive photo op with Anthrax, whom would be the first of the big heavies to man the stage.

Welcome to the desert. Watch it bring you to your knees!

TiK ToK, it's 4 o'clock. Tea time. Madhouse time. Spreading the disease time. Got the time? Anthrax, with mid 80's era singer Joey Belladonna, kicked off the bash by opening a can of thrash whoopass. Stomping through "Caught In A Mosh" which, ironically, triggered a instantaneous mosh-pit inhabited by black-clad metal injuns, the band heat up the sun-scorched heathens with a heavy dose of well-worn classics from their 1987 Among the Living album as well as fan favorites "Antisocial" and "Metal-Thrashing Mad".

Next rocket to launch up was original Metallica member Dave Mustaine as he orchestrated the taut methodical machinations of his thrash-jazz outfit Megadeth. Razor-sharp renditions of "In My Darkest Hour," "Hangar 18," "Wake Up Dead" and "Peace Sells" amped up the colossal crowd.

Considering the long history of often-public tension between Mustaine and Metallica, it was interesting, though innocuous, to hear him close out the set with "Mechanix," a song Dave originally wrote for his former band and one that is curiously similar to "The Four Horsemen" off of Metallica's debut album. You be the judge.

Thirty minutes later, the massive screens to either side of the stage became emblazoned with the word SLAYER in bright blood red.

Soon, the crazy would be unleashed as the only SoCal homies on the bill would dominate the proceedings with unmatched ferocity as they ripped the eyelids off of old-skool anthems such as "Postmortem," "Black Magic," "Season In The Abyss," "War Ensemble" and "South of Heaven" featuring the return of Jeff Hanneman, who had been sidelined after he contracted necrotizing fasciitis (a flesh-eating wound) on his right arm, most likely from a spider bite.

Welcome to the desert. Feel my, my serpentine. I wanna hear you scream.

While the staple of every rock show is for some drunk guy to yell out "Free Bird," a staple of every metal show ever is for a whole BUNCH of drunk guys to yell out SLAAAAYERRR!!!!!!

And with good reason, since there's nothing quite like the freight train of muted power chords, hyper-kinetic double-kick drumming and visceral delivery that embodies the band's foundation. They also never "sold-out" and only slowed down when they could make it sound sinister. Or creepy.

It should also be noted that it was highly entertaining to watch the "sign-language" person appointed to "sign" all the songs during the event try to keep up with the spit-fire rapidity of Tom Araya's vocals.

Having long-ago checked "getting-caught-in-a-mosh-during-a-Slayer-show" off my bucket list, I, nevertheless, continue to find it one of the most exhilarating things to do in the realm of experiencing live music and an intriguing look at sociology.

Obviously, one can look at the mosh pit eruption during "Raining Blood" or "Angel of Death" as a symbol of Darwinism but because a large festival crowd is typically a more mainstream audience, moshing becomes more of a safe way to blow off some pent-up steam and work out some built-up angst.

During Slayer's entire set, girls that entered the circling fray were treated respectfully and when one of the rambunctious guys would get pushed over, several people would immediately help the fallen up.

As a final show of solidarity of newfound admiration amongst the pit participants, sweaty t-shirts were taken off and thrown into the middle and set on fire. Idiotic but harmless. Damn, I forgot to bring marshmallows and graham crackers! Slayer & S'mores FTW!

And then there was One.

Though each of the Big 4 drew their fair share of dedicated fans, the crowd, overall, was there to see Metallica, legitimately, one the greatest rock bands of all time.

I have witnessed their thunderous concerts on many occasions and was fortunate to see them with original bassist Cliff Burton on both the Ride The Lightning & Master of Puppets tours.

Career concert-going highlights for sure, though many of us fell off the wagon for a decade or more with the release of Load in 1996. It wasn't until the recent Rick Rubin-produced Death Magnetic was released that flames with their original fans were rekindled.

Partially acknowledging this themselves, set lists from recent tours are loaded with material from their first five albums (1983-1991) and "Fuel," the lone bandit from the unforgiven years.

Welcome to the desert. The dust gets worse here everyday.

A little before 9PM, we headed out into the center of the monstrous crowd and stood just beneath a speaker tower. Within minutes, an exuberant guy in front of us yelled out "Welcome to the Desert".

I contemplated a possible context for this random boisterous utterance for a split second and then turned my attention to the opening crescendo of chords that power "Creeping Death," the wick that lit a two-hour romp of fist-pumping primal ecstasy.

Throughout Metallica's heavyweight title defense as reigning champion amongst the big four, singer James Hetfield would encourage fans to sing along and fist-pump "HEY" repetitively. Meanwhile, this same guy in front of us continued to haphazardly yell out "Welcome to the Desert," though about halfway through the set, he added the word "f*cking" for more emphasis.

I, once again, began to ponder the context of this same outburst over and over though these frequent occurrences didn't seem to bother anyone since they were immediately engulfed by the 130dB's being shoveled out from the stage. Many theories (drunk, stoned, both; ignorant, polite, proud), no definitive conclusions.

As the requisite polo field curfew of 11PM approached, all of the respective metal gods took to the stage for a sloppy mish-mash version of Diamond Head's "Am I Evil?" with the real highlight being Dave Mustaine "hugging it out" and then singing a verse next to James Hetfield. Bad blood be damned.

The mighty Met then closed out Coachellica with two barn-burners from their 1983 debut Kill 'Em All. My hearing had been sought & destroyed.

Hearing so many classic tracks over the course of seven hours, the Big 4 proved to be a triumphant Clash of the Titans celebrating 30 years of thrash metal magick that led me to ponder loudly to myself...

YOU KNOW WHERE YOU ARE?
YOU'RE IN THE F*CKING DESERT BABY!

HUH!

ANTHRAX
INDIO, CA
4-23-11
1. Caught In A Mosh
2. Got the Time
3. Madhouse
4. Among the Living
5. Antisocial
6. Indians
7. Fight 'Em Till You Can't
8. Metal Thrashing Mad
9. A.I.R.
10. I Am The Law

MEGADETH
INDIO, CA
4-23-11
1. Trust
2. In My Darkest Hour
3. Hangar 18
4. Wake Up Dead
5. Poison Was the Cure
6. She-Wolf
7. Sweating Bullets
8. Head Crusher
9. A Tout Le Monde
10. Symphony of Destruction
11. Peace Sells (But Who's Buying?)
12. Holy Wars...The Punishment Due / Mechanix

SLAYER
INDIO, CA
4-23-11
1. World Painted Blood
2. Hate Worldwide
3. War Ensemble
4. Postmortem
5. Raining Blood
6. Black Magic
7. Dead Skin Mask
8. Americon
9. Silent Scream
10. The Anti-Christ
11. Seasons In The Abyss
12. Payback
13. Snuff
14. South of Heaven (w/ Jeff Hanneman)
15. Angel of Death (w/ Jeff Hanneman)

METALLICA
INDIO, CA
4-23-11
1. Creeping Death
2. For Whom The Bell Tolls
3. Fuel
4. Ride The Lightning
5. Fade to Black
6. Cyanide
7. All Nightmare Long
8. Sad But True
9. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
10. Orion
11. One
12. Master of Puppets
13. Blackened
14. Nothing Else Matters
15. Enter Sandman
16. Am I Evil? (w/ The Big 4)
17. Hit The Lights
18. Seek & Destroy

(Special thanks to Goldenvoice; Todd, Marcee & Aaron @MSOPR; Heidi @HerfitzPR; James Zahn @KikAxeEnt; photog Andrew Phares)

CADY GROVES; Pirate Playmate Of The Year...She's The Sh!t

And the winner is... Ms Cadence Groves

Bon jour to 21-year old Cady Groves from Yukon, OK (just outside of Oklahoma City) whom has decided that the only thing that intrigues her is to live the life of a pirate.

Cady Groves - The Life of a Pirate

And even though I'm only referencing the lyrics to the title track of her most recent EP, she seems to have really considered the possibility and her impassioned delivery made a believer out of me. Give the girl a ship. Give her the sea. And please give her an unlimited-access Ustream account so the postulations of a modern-day pirate can be televised.

It's these self-reverent musings and playful self-deprecating quotes (such as "If Miranda Lambert, Paramore, The Dixie Chicks and Taylor Swift all had a less-talented baby — that would be me.”) that are quickly winning her a devoted social media following.

So, move over Hayley Williams (already one of the most clever celebrity personalities on Twitter) and make some room on the bow of the hull for Ms. Groves whom is just as snarky, unequivocally as beguiling and equally as ingratiating to her beloved fans.

Yelyah may currently have 1.5 million more followers but that will even out over time. What about a little MMA bout to settle the title of 'Twitter Queen of the WOOORRRRRRRLD'? Or just a good ole fashioned Mexican standoff to decode whose version of Paramore's "The Only Exception" is preferred?

Watch/Listen to Cady's

"It's not easy to be this complicated..."

Ten years ago, the Radio Corporation of America was readying a Napanee, Ontario native whose vernacular also effectuated the adjective "complicated".

Time for RCA to once again put the marketing & promotion behemoth behind another lovely small-town, girl-next-door singer-songwriter with her own stash of tell-it-like-she-sees-it-heart-on-her-sleeve ruminations.

Simultaneously appealing to the Alt-press crowd, the Country-strong crowd and folksy-Americana lovers, she's a bonafide superstar-in-waiting whom will also one day be known by just her first name as others before her; Avril, Hayley, Lacey, Britney, Miranda, Taylor, Alanis, Colbie and the other Katy.

And aside from being able to rock a pirate hat sans mullet like no other, she's also an affable playmate, having contributed her pleasing-to-the-ear emoting to tracks by up-n-comers; Plug In Stereo ("Oh Darling"), Ethan Gibson ("Take It All"), Stephen Jerzak ("Better Than Better Could Ever Be"), Carter Hulsey ("Fences"), Andrew De Torres ("All That I Need Is You") and the Secondhand Serenade track "You & I".

Cady is also imbuing moving visuals with her smiling hamburgers and effervescent pizazz as evidenced by her two-second cameo in the 3OH!3 video for "Touchin On My" (you can tell its her by her ever-present rock-star sunglasses at 1:19 in the video) and the official video for "Real With Me":



And then there's a spit-fire, off-the-cuff improv scene in a random movie she shot with her brother Kelly entitled "Being Earnest":



And the winner for Best New Artist is...it's time for public opinion to decide.

Cady's been camped out in Los Angeles wrapping up the finishing touches on her debut album for RCA Records. Go here to grab a freebie from the new album called We're The Sh!t

Cady Groves - We're The Sh!t

She's set to hit the road this week with The Downtown Fiction, He Is We and Amely on the "Let's Be Animals" tour. Ships ahoy matey!

CADY GROVES
TOUR DATES
04/19/11 – St. Louis, MO – The Firebird
04/20/11 – Evansville, IN - Boney June’s
04/21/11 – Columbus, OH – The Basement
04/22/11 – Richmond, VA – The Canal Club
04/23/11 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
04/25/11 – Allentown, PA – Crocodile Rock Café
04/26/11 – Rochester, NY – Water Street Music Hall
04/27/11 – Albany, NY – Valentine’s
04/28/11 – Manchester, NH – Rocko’s
04/29/11 – East Rutherford, NJ – The Bamboozle Festival
04/30/11 – Wilkes-Barre, PA – RADIO SHOW
05/01/11 – East Rutherford, NJ – The Bamboozle Festival
05/03/11 – Akron, OH – Musica
05/04/11 – Lansing, MI – The Loft
05/05/11 – Toledo, OH – Frankies
05/06/11 – Tinley, Park IL – Mojoe’s Rock House
05/07/11 – Covington, KY – Mad Hatter Club

CADYGROVESMUSIC.COM
TWIZZLER